The desire to provide a heat source for those observers or participants in athletic events who are not actively engaged in the athletic contest—coaches, substitute players, the offensive or defensive squads that are alternatively on the sideline or on the playing field, etc.—has led to the development and use of various personnel warming devices. Known warmers include torpedo heaters and other space heaters designed to blow hot air into a general area, heated benches for seating, and heated bench-like structures that can be used as seats or that otherwise serve as radiant sources of heat. The present invention represents an improvement to known heated benches and bench-like structures, as it is a more effective and comfortable means of warming the entire body of a person who is required or desires to sit or stand for long periods of time in a cold environment.
Known heated benches have not been designed to be effective and convenient total body warmers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,246 to Jenkins discloses a bench wherein heated air under pressure is moved from a heating source through a conduit and into a mostly hollow bench structure. The Jenkins bench is perforated in multiple locations, thus providing necessary outlets for exhausting the pressurized air, and also creating streams of heated air blowing onto whoever is sitting on the bench. However, neither Jenkins nor any other known bench is effectively able to route this exhausted air so that it envelopes the entire body of the sitter(s) without the use of flexible hoses extending from the bench. The known benches are only effective when sat upon, and even then their effectiveness is limited to warming only the backside of the sitters. So in addition to only heating one side of the body, these benches also essentially deprive a person of the option of standing if that person wishes to experience any warmth at all.
In addition to the shortcomings discussed above, known heated benches do a particularly poor job of warming a person's feet. Jenkins provides for a compartment at the back of the bench into which the feet may be inserted, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,615, also to Jenkins, provides a bench that requires a person to pull his lower legs and feet back into a compartment located in the front of the bench. In the first scenario, a person cannot warm his feet while simultaneously warming the rest of his body, because foot warming requires that the person stand behind the bench. In the second scenario, a person must sit uncomfortably to warm his feet.
Cylindrical bench-like structures, like that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,223 to Huls, have also been used as heat sources for participants at outdoor athletic events. The Huls device operates on many of the same basic principles as do the heated benches, but lacks the advantage of providing a back support for anyone wishing to sit upon the device. This device has been equipped with perforations for exhausting hot air at regular intervals along the length and circumference of the device, however, making standing near the device more of an option than it is with a heated bench. But the person standing near the device will not be fully enveloped in heated air, thereby leaving the side of his or her body facing away from the device exposed to the cold. Another disadvantage is that one cannot sit on the device and simultaneously warm his feet. Foot warming requires that the person face the cylindrical heater, standing with his toes beneath the drum.
Providing a heat source for participants in cold-climate athletic events not only makes exposure to cold temperatures more bearable from a comfort standpoint, it also enhances the performance and safety of the participants in such conditions. For example, warm muscles are more limber and less prone to injury than are muscles that become tight as a result of inactivity in cold temperatures. Moreover, in contact sports such as football, the force of a collision is less painful—and potentially less injurious—to a warm body.
Minimizing the risk of injury is obviously important in any activity, regardless of climate. And protecting the head is particularly important in activities where the potential for head trauma is high. As a result, helmets are often mandatory or highly recommended equipment for participation in such activities. Logically, maintaining a helmet in its optimal condition helps optimize the helmet's effectiveness. It has been observed, however, that when a helmet is exposed to cold temperatures, its padding can be adversely affected, and the helmet's effectiveness can be compromised.
A helmet's padding serves the dual purpose of absorbing the force of a blow to the helmet and ensuring that the helmet fits its wearer properly. To do this consistently, the padding must be able to maintain its elasticity in all conditions and circumstances. But when cold, the padding hardens. When its pads harden, a helmet becomes difficult to put on, and more importantly, the helmet's ability to protect the head is compromised. Instead of absorbing the force of a blow to the helmet, the hardened pads become an instrument through which the force is delivered to the head. The helmet's wearer is thereby exposed to a greater risk of head injury.
Heat radiating from a player's head generally keeps the padding in his helmet from hardening in cold temperatures. But it is not always practical or desirable for a football player to wear his helmet when not participating in the game or practice. In addition to the padding of his helmet hardening, a secondary problem often arises when a player removes his helmet—the player frequently forgets where he placed it when he took it off.
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide an apparatus which effectively heats the interior padding of helmets or other equipment, while providing a structure for the convenient placement of such equipment.
It is another objective of this invention to provide an efficient and effective heating system for warming the entire body of a person required or desiring to sit or stand for extended periods in a cold environment.
Conversely, many athletic events take place in extremely warm environments. In such conditions, it is important to protect athletes from overheating. Overheating can result in dehydration, heat stroke, or even death. In addition to providing water to athletes, cooling devices have also been employed to keep athletes' body temperatures from rising to dangerous levels. Such devices include fans, fans that blow cool mist into open air, and portable air conditioning units that blow cool air into open spaces. These devices have not been effectively used in connection with seating devices to efficiently deliver cool air to athletes seated upon them.
It is an objective of one embodiment of this invention to provide a bench structure upon which an athlete may comfortably sit and be effectively cooled in high temperature environments.